Time slot adjustment method, communication system and device

Abstract

The invention provides a time slot adjustment method, a communication system and a device, which are applied to the field of network communication. The method comprises: a first network device generating an adjustment request frame, the adjustment request frame comprising time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information being associated with a plurality of time slots, the adjustment request frame being used for requesting to adjust at least one of the plurality of time slots. And then, the first network equipment sends an adjustment request frame to the second network equipment. Based on the scheme, the first network equipment can request to adjust one or more time slots through one adjustment request frame. For the same number of to-be-adjusted time slots, compared with a scheme of indicating adjustment of each time slot frame by frame in the prior art, the scheme provided by the invention can reduce the number of adjustment request frames needing to be sent, thereby saving communication resources and reducing the time delay of time slot adjustment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of network communication technology, and in particular to a time slot adjustment method, a communication system and a device. Background Art

[0002] Flexible Ethernet (FlexE) technology is a technology developed on the basis of Ethernet technology to meet the needs of high-speed transmission and flexible bandwidth configuration. FlexE technology adds a logical sublayer "FlexE Shim Layer" between the media access control (MAC) layer and the physical (PHY) layer of the traditional Ethernet network model to decouple the MAC layer and the PHY layer. The FlexE Shim layer can time-division multiplex the bandwidth of Ethernet PHY based on time slots, and customers can achieve flexible bandwidth configuration by occupying different numbers of slots. For example, the bandwidth of a 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) PHY can be divided into 20 slots for time-division multiplexing, and the bandwidth corresponding to each slot is 5 gigabits per second (Gbps). Customers can achieve flexible bandwidth configuration of n*5Gbps.

[0003] FlexE technology has been applied in the slicing packet network (SPN), the bearer network of the fifth generation (5G) communication network. SPN can provide customers with end-to-end hard-isolated slice channels, each of which is dedicated to transmitting the services of one customer. The slice channels in SPN also perform time-division multiplexing of the bandwidth of Ethernet PHY based on the slots divided by FlexE technology, so that the customer's bandwidth configuration can be n*5Gbps.

[0004] SPN small particle technology is based on the traditional SPN, which makes a finer division of the slice channel. It can further divide the Ethernet PHY into sub-slots with a granularity of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) for time division multiplexing, so that the customer's bandwidth configuration can be n*10Mbps.

[0005] However, when the slot or sub-slot occupied by the customer needs to be adjusted, the network device needs to indicate the adjustment through overhead frames one by one. When there are many slots or sub-slots that need to be adjusted, the number of overhead frames that need to be sent is large, which will occupy more communication resources. In addition, the large number of overhead frames sent will also make the adjustment process more delayed, affecting the customer experience. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application provides a time slot adjustment method, a communication system and a device, which can solve the problems of large communication resources consumed and large adjustment delay in time slot adjustment in the prior art.

[0007] In a first aspect, a time slot adjustment method is provided, which can be performed by a first network device, or by a component of the first network device, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the first network device, or can be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. The method may include: the first network device generates an adjustment request frame, the adjustment request frame includes time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information is associated with multiple time slots, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot in the multiple time slots. Afterwards, the first network device sends the adjustment request frame to the second network device.

[0008] Based on this solution, the first network device can request to adjust one or more time slots through an adjustment request frame. For the same number of time slots to be adjusted, compared with the solution of indicating adjustment of each time slot frame by frame in the prior art, the solution of the present application can reduce the number of adjustment request frames to be sent, thereby saving communication resources and reducing the delay of time slot adjustment.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect above, as a possible implementation manner, the time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame may be a slot divided by the FlexE technology, or a sub-slot divided by the SPN small particle technology.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect above, as a possible implementation manner, the multiple time slots belong to a range of time slots adjustable by a customer performing time slot adjustment, and the time slot adjustment information includes an identifier of the customer performing time slot adjustment.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, as a possible implementation, the time slot adjustment information further includes multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots, and one time slot occupancy identifier is used to indicate a target occupancy status of a corresponding time slot, and the target occupancy status of the time slot refers to whether the time slot needs to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment. The target occupancy status of at least one time slot is different from the current occupancy status.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, as a possible implementation, at least one time slot includes a first-class time slot, the current occupancy status of the first-class time slot is not occupied by a client, and the target occupancy status of the first-class time slot is occupied by a client who needs to adjust the time slot. The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the first-class time slot to be occupied by the client who needs to adjust the time slot.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, as a possible implementation, at least one time slot includes a second-category time slot, a current occupancy status of the first-category time slot is occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment, and a target occupancy status of the second-category time slot is that it does not need to be occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment. The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, and specifically may include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the second-category time slot to no longer be occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect above, as a possible implementation, the time slot adjustment information further includes multiple time slot adjustment identifiers, the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots, and a time slot adjustment identifier is used to indicate whether a corresponding time slot needs to be adjusted. At least one time slot is indicated to need to be adjusted.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, as a possible implementation, the current occupancy of at least one time slot is not occupied by a client. The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot to be occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, as a possible implementation, the current occupancy of at least one time slot is occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment. The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot to no longer be occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, as a possible implementation, the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing time slot adjustment includes multiple groups of time slots, and the multiple time slots are any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots. The time slot adjustment information may also include a grouping identifier, which is used to indicate the grouping of the multiple time slots in the multiple groups of time slots.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect above, as a possible implementation method, the frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first FGU frame overhead. The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1. The client ID field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the ID of the customer who performs time slot adjustment, and the sub-slot ID field and the first part reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead are used together to carry a group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect above, as a possible implementation, the adjustment request frame may also include a special format identifier, the special format identifier is used to indicate that the frame format is modified according to the first FGU frame overhead. The second part of the reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead can be used to carry the special format identifier.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect above, as a possible implementation, the time slot adjustment method may further include: the first network device receives a time slot adjustment response frame from the second network device, the adjustment response frame is used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot is allowed. The first network device adjusts at least one time slot. The first network device sends a time slot validity indication frame to the second network device, the time slot validity indication frame is used to indicate that the adjustment of at least one time slot is effective.

[0021] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, as a possible implementation method, the time slot adjustment method may also include: the first network device receives a time slot increase adjustment notification frame from the second network device, and the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the customer.

[0022] In a second aspect, a time slot adjustment method is provided, which can be executed by a second network device, or by a component of the second network device, such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system of the second network device, or can be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device. The method may include: the second network device receives an adjustment request frame from the first network device, the adjustment request frame includes time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information is associated with multiple time slots, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot among the multiple time slots. Afterwards, the second network device adjusts at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame.

[0023] Based on this solution, an adjustment request frame received by the second network device can request adjustment of one or more time slots. For the same number of time slots to be adjusted, compared with the solution of indicating adjustment of each time slot frame by frame in the prior art, the solution of the present application can reduce the number of adjustment request frames to be sent, thereby saving communication resources and reducing the delay of time slot adjustment.

[0024] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation method, the time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame may be a slot divided by the FlexE technology, or a sub-slot divided by the SPN small particle technology.

[0025] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation manner, the multiple time slots belong to the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer who performs the time slot adjustment, and the time slot adjustment information includes the identifier of the customer who performs the time slot adjustment.

[0026] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, as a possible implementation method, the time slot adjustment information also includes multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers correspond one-to-one to multiple time slots. A time slot occupancy identifier is used to indicate the target occupancy status of a corresponding time slot, and the target occupancy status of the time slot refers to whether the time slot needs to be occupied by the customer who performs the time slot adjustment; wherein, the target occupancy status of at least one time slot is different from the current occupancy status.

[0027] In conjunction with the second aspect, as a possible implementation, at least one time slot includes a first-category time slot, a current occupancy status of the first-category time slot is not occupied by a client, and a target occupancy status of the first-category time slot is occupied by a client who needs to adjust the time slot. The second network device adjusts at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the second network device adjusts the first-category time slot to be occupied by the client who adjusts the time slot.

[0028] In conjunction with the second aspect, as a possible implementation, at least one time slot includes a second type of time slot, a current occupancy status of the first type of time slot is occupied by a client who performs time slot adjustment, and a target occupancy status of the second type of time slot is occupied by a client who performs time slot adjustment. The second network device adjusts at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the second network device adjusts the second type of time slot to no longer be occupied by the client who performs time slot adjustment.

[0029] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation, the time slot adjustment information further includes multiple time slot adjustment identifiers, the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots, and a time slot adjustment identifier is used to indicate whether a corresponding time slot needs to be adjusted. At least one time slot is indicated to need to be adjusted.

[0030] In conjunction with the second aspect, as a possible implementation, the current occupancy status of at least one time slot is not occupied by a client. The second network device adjusting at least one time slot may specifically include: the second network device adjusting at least one time slot to be occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment.

[0031] In conjunction with the second aspect, as a possible implementation, the current occupancy of at least one time slot is occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment. The second network device adjusting at least one time slot may specifically include: the second network device adjusting at least one time slot to no longer be occupied by the client performing time slot adjustment.

[0032] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation, the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing time slot adjustment includes multiple groups of time slots, and the multiple time slots are any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots. The time slot adjustment information also includes a grouping identifier, and the grouping identifier indicates the grouping of the multiple time slots in the multiple groups of time slots.

[0033] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation method, the frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first small granular unit FGU frame overhead. The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1. The client identifier Client ID field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the ID of the customer who performs time slot adjustment, and the sub-time slot identifier Sub-Slot ID field and the first part reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead are used together to carry a group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers.

[0034] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation, the adjustment request frame also includes a special format identifier, and the special format identifier is used to indicate that the frame format is modified according to the first FGU frame overhead. The second part of the reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the special format identifier.

[0035] In combination with the above second aspect, as a possible implementation manner, the time slot adjustment method may further include: the second network device sends a time slot adjustment response frame to the first network device, the adjustment response frame is used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot is allowed. And, the second network device receives a time slot validity indication frame from the first network device, the time slot validity indication frame is used to indicate that the adjustment of at least one time slot is effective.

[0036] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, as a possible implementation method, the time slot adjustment method may also include: the second network device sends a time slot increase adjustment notification frame to the first network device, and the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the customer.

[0037] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above method. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the above method, and the module, unit, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0038] In combination with the above-mentioned third aspect, as a possible implementation method, the communication device includes a processing module and a transceiver module, the transceiver module is used to execute the receiving and / or sending operations performed on the communication device side in the method described in any one of the above-mentioned first aspect or the second aspect; the processing module is used to call instructions to execute the processing and / or control operations performed on the communication device side in the method described in any one of the above-mentioned first aspect or the second aspect.

[0039] In combination with the third aspect above, as a possible implementation manner, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver.

[0040] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store program instructions, and when the device is running, the processor executes the program instructions stored in the memory to enable the device to perform a time slot adjustment method as described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0041] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the device further includes a communication interface; the communication interface is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit, etc.

[0042] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which program instructions are stored, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer can execute the time slot adjustment method described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0043] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the time slot adjustment method described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0044] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the third to sixth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a FlexE general architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of using FlexE technology to divide slots provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a time slot occupancy adjustment performed by a transmitting end device and a receiving end device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the format of a FlexE overhead frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of dividing sub-slots using SPN small particle technology provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another method of dividing sub-slots using SPN small particle technology provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a small-granularity client bandwidth reduction adjustment process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a small-granularity client bandwidth increase adjustment process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the format of an FGU frame overhead for implementing small-granularity client bandwidth adjustment provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a metropolitan area network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Fig.12 A flowchart of a time slot adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the format of an adjustment request frame obtained based on modification of a first FGU frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of the format of another adjustment request frame obtained based on modification of the first FGU frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the format of another adjustment request frame obtained based on modification of the first FGU frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of the format of another adjustment request frame obtained based on modification of the first FGU frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Fig.17 A schematic diagram of the format of an adjustment request frame obtained based on FlexE overhead frame modification provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Fig.18 A schematic diagram of the format of another adjustment request frame obtained based on FlexE overhead frame modification provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Fig. 20 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] For ease of understanding, the relevant technical contents involved in this application are first introduced.

[0066] Figure 1 A FlexE general architecture is shown, such as Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the architecture includes a FlexE group, a FlexE Shim, and a FlexE client, where:

[0067] FlexE Group: consists of at least one bundled Ethernet PHY. A FlexE Group can be considered as a logical PHY channel.

[0068] FlexE Client: corresponds to the traditional interface in the Ethernet network. It is an Ethernet data stream based on the MAC layer rate. Its rate is not fixed and is used to connect to the network user interface (UNI) with different rate requirements.

[0069] FlexE Shim: Located between the MAC layer and the PHY layer, it is the core processing logic layer of FlexE. It is used to map the FlexE Client data stream of the MAC layer to the PHY of the FlexE Group for transmission, and to reversely map the data transmitted by the PHY in the FlexE Group to the FlexE Client data stream of the MAC layer.

[0070] As an implementation method, FlexE Shim can divide each 100GE PHY in the FlexE Group into 20 slots for time division multiplexing. The group of slots corresponding to each PHY is called a Sub-calendar, where the bandwidth corresponding to each slot is 5Gbps. The data stream of the FlexE Client is encoded in 64B / 66B to form one or more data blocks. The PHY included in the FlexE Group can be time-division multiplexed based on the slot to transmit these blocks. Each block occupies a slot, and the data stream of a FlexE Client can occupy one or more slots. Since the bandwidth corresponding to each slot in the 100GE PHY of the FlexEGroup is 5Gbps granularity, the theoretically configurable bandwidth of the FlexE Client is n*5Gbps, supporting flexible multi-rate bearer.

[0071] For example, Figure 2 FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of using FlexE technology to divide slots. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, a FlexEGroup can include 2 100GE PHYs. Each 100GE PHY can be divided into 20 slots with a granularity of 5 Gbps. The 20 slots corresponding to each 100GE PHY belong to one sub-calendar. The two 100GE PHYs can be divided into a total of 40 slots with a granularity of 5 Gbps, which belong to two sub-calendars (such as Figure 2 ). Continue to refer to Figure 2 , FlexE Client-A's data stream can occupy slot 2 and slot 9 in sub-calendar1 for transmission, and the bandwidth of FlexE Client-A is 10 Gbps. FlexE Client-B's data stream can occupy slot 17 in sub-calendar1. And slot 1, slot 3, slot 12, and slot 17 in sub-calendar2 for transmission, and the bandwidth of FlexE Client-B is 25 Gbps.

[0072] It should be noted that the bandwidth corresponding to the slot defined in the original FlexE standard is 5Gbps. However, with the development of FlexE technology, the bandwidth corresponding to the slot divided by Ethernet PHY by FlexE technology can also have other values, which is not limited in this application. For example, the slot can also be 1Gbps, 1.25Gbps, etc. The following embodiments of this application are explained by taking the bandwidth corresponding to the slot as 5Gbps as an example.

[0073] When client data is time-division multiplexed in slots divided by FlexE technology, the sending device and the receiving device can maintain a time slot allocation table, which records the allocation of slots included in the Sub-Calendar in the FlexE Group. The allocation refers to which FlexE Client occupies each slot. When the time slot occupied by the FlexEClient data stream needs to be adjusted, the sending device and the receiving device can update the time slot occupancy status, and then transmit data based on the updated time slot occupancy status.

[0074] As an implementation method, a main time slot allocation table and a standby time slot allocation table can be maintained on a transmitting device and a receiving device. The main time slot allocation table is a working table for data transmission at present, and the standby time slot allocation table is used to replace the main time slot allocation table when the time slot occupancy situation is updated. When the time slot occupancy situation is not updated, the standby time slot allocation table is idle. When the time slot occupancy situation needs to be updated, the new time slot occupancy situation can be configured in the standby time slot allocation table first, and then the time slot allocation table is switched, and the standby time slot allocation table is used for data transmission.

[0075] For example, Figure 3 The figure is a flow chart of adjusting the time slot occupancy of a transmitting device and a receiving device. Figure 3 As shown, the adjustment process may include the following steps:

[0076] Step 301: The transmitting end device configures a spare time slot allocation table of the transmitting end device according to the updated time slot occupancy status, and the spare time slot allocation table is different from the main time slot allocation table currently used by the transmitting end device.

[0077] Step 302: The transmitting device indicates the occupancy status of the time slots in the standby time slot allocation table to the receiving device through a FlexE overhead frame.

[0078] Optionally, the standby time slot allocation table includes n time slots, and the occupancy status of the n time slots needs to be indicated by n FlexE overhead frames, and each FlexE overhead frame indicates the occupancy status of a time slot.

[0079] Figure 4A schematic diagram of the format of a FlexE overhead frame provided in this application, such as Figure 4 As shown, the first 8 bits of the FlexE overhead frame are fixed values ​​0x4B, the 9th bit is the work table configuration field (indicated by C in the figure), the 10th bit is the overhead multiframe indicator (OMF) field, the 11th bit is the remote PHY fault (RPF) field, the 12th bit is the synchronization configuration (SC) field, the 13th to 32nd bits are the FlexE group number (FlexE Group Number) field, the 33rd to 36th bits are fixed values ​​0x5, the 37th to 64th bits are fixed values ​​0x000_0000, the 65th bit is also the work table configuration field (indicated by C in the figure), the 66th to 73rd bits are the FlexE map (FlexE Map) field, and the 74th to 81st bits are the FlexE instance number (FlexE instance The 82nd to 128th bits are the reserved field (reserved), the 129th bit is also the work table configuration field (indicated by C in the figure), the 130th to 145th bits are the client calendar table A (Client Calender A) field, the 146th to 161st bits are the client calendar table B (Client Calender B) field, the 162nd bit is the table switch request (Calender Switch request, CR) field, the 163rd bit is the table switch confirmation (Calender Switch acknowledge, CA) field, the 164th to 176th bits are the reserved field, and the 177th to 192th bits are the cyclic redundancy check (Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC) field.

[0080] Figure 4 The Client Calender A field shown corresponds to the main timeslot allocation table. The Client Calender A field can carry a timeslot in the main timeslot allocation table and the FlexE Client carried by the timeslot. Figure 4 The ClientCalender B field shown corresponds to the standby timeslot allocation table. The ClientCalender B field may carry a timeslot in the standby timeslot allocation table and the FlexE Client carried by the timeslot.

[0081] In step 302, the transmitting device may carry the time slot occupancy status in its standby time slot allocation table in the Client Calendar B field of the FlexE overhead frame sent to the receiving device. Based on this implementation, the transmitting device may synchronize its standby time slot allocation table to the receiving device.

[0082] Step 303: The receiving end device configures a standby timeslot allocation table of the receiving end device according to the timeslot occupancy indicated by the FlexE overhead frame.

[0083] Step 304: The receiving end device indicates to the transmitting end device through a FlexE overhead frame that it confirms the time slot adjustment, and also indicates that the receiving end device is ready to switch the time slot allocation table.

[0084] Optionally, the standby time slot allocation table includes n time slots, so that n FlexE overhead frames are also required in this step to indicate that the occupancy of the n time slots is allowed to be adjusted. In addition, the table switching flag in the n FlexE overhead frames is also set to a valid state to indicate that the receiving end device is ready to switch the time slot allocation table.

[0085] Step 305: The transmitting end device switches the standby time slot allocation table to a working table for data transmission.

[0086] Step 306: The transmitting device instructs the receiving device to switch the time slot allocation table through a FlexE overhead frame.

[0087] Step 307: The receiving end device switches the standby time slot allocation table to a working table for data transmission.

[0088] At this point, the sending device and the receiving device have completed the adjustment of the time slot occupancy, thereby realizing the bandwidth adjustment of the FlexE Client data flow.

[0089] However, the current standard requires that each time the time slot allocation table is switched, a full frame needs to be sent to indicate the allocation of each slot in the standby table. Since the allocation of each slot needs to be indicated by a FlexE overhead frame, each time the time slot allocation table is switched, multiple FlexE overhead frames need to be sent. When the time slot allocation table includes many slots, many FlexE overhead frames need to be transmitted when switching the time slot allocation table.

[0090] FlexE technology has been applied in 5G bearer networks, such as SPN. The SPN architecture may include a slice packet layer (SPL), a slice channel layer (SCL) and a slice transport layer (STL), as well as a time / clock synchronization plane and a management / control plane. Among them, the slice channel layer and the slice transport layer may be implemented using FlexE technology. The Ethernet PHY in the slice transport layer may be bound into a FlexE Group using FlexE technology. The slice channel layer may use slicing Ethernet (SE) technology to time-slot the FlexE Group, and perform time-division multiplexing scheduling based on the time slots divided by the FlexE Group, providing end-to-end hard-isolated slice channels. The hard-isolated slice channel provided by the slice channel layer may be called an SPN channel (SPNchannel). The SPN channel may occupy one or more time slots. The bandwidth implementation of the SPN channel may refer to the relevant description of the bandwidth implementation of the FlexEClient in the previous text. An SPN channel is used to transmit the data stream of a FlexE Client.

[0091] Optionally, the slice channel layer of the SPN architecture can also be implemented using Metro Transport Network (MTN) technology. MTN technology is a technology for implementing slice channels and interfaces based on FlexE technology, and the technical principles of the two are similar. Accordingly, the FlexE Group bound to at least one Ethernet PHY in the slice transport layer can also be called an MTN group (MTN Group), and the SPN channel in the slice channel layer can also be called MTN (MTN channel). In the embodiment of the present application, the above two statements may be equivalent, which are explained here.

[0092] In the art, an SPN channel or an MTN channel can be considered as a large particle carrying channel.

[0093] With the rapid development of the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication technology, the innovative integration of 5G and various industries has brought about a large number of high-security, low-latency, small-bandwidth, and soft-hard isolation dedicated line services. At present, the large-granular bearer channel at the Gbps granularity level can no longer meet the bearer requirements of such small-bandwidth dedicated line services, so SPN small-granular technology came into being. SPN small-granular technology inherits the efficient Ethernet core of SPN and integrates fine-grained slicing technology into the overall SPN architecture. SPN small-granular technology can provide 10 megabits per second (Mbps) bandwidth sub-slots for time division multiplexing, and customers occupy one or more sub-slots to transmit service data.

[0094] In this field, a client that occupies a sub-slot to transmit business data can be called a fine-granularity client (fg-Client), and a channel in the slice channel layer of SPN that transmits business data of a small-granularity client can be called a fine-granularity channel (FG-Channel).

[0095] As an implementation method, SPN small-granularity technology can further divide the bandwidth of the SPN channel into multiple sub-slots for time-division multiplexing to transmit the service data of small-granularity customers. For example, a 5Gbps SPN channel can be divided into 480 10Mbps sub-slots.

[0096] For example, Figure 5 A schematic diagram of using SPN small particle technology to divide sub-slots. Figure 5 As shown, FlexE technology can be used to connect x Ethernet PHYs (such as Figure 5 PHY-1 to PHY-x in the FlexE Group are bound into a FlexE Group. Further, the FlexE Group can be divided into y slots, for example Figure 5 y slots can be allocated to z SPN channels (e.g. Figure 5 Each SPN channel can occupy one or more slots. Among them, SPN channel-1 occupies one slot with a bandwidth of 5Gbps. SPN small particle technology can divide the slot-1 occupied by SPN channel-1 into 480 sub-slots with a granularity of 10Mbps, for example Figure 5Sub-slot 0 to sub-slot 479 in the . Small-granularity clients can occupy one or more of the sub-slots to transmit service data. For example, fg-Client A can occupy 4 of the sub-slots, and fg-Client B can occupy 6 of the sub-slots. "*" indicates that the corresponding sub-slot is not occupied.

[0097] It should be understood that, in the scenario where the bandwidth of a large-granularity SPN channel is divided into sub-slots for time division multiplexing, the small-granularity customers that occupy the sub-slots divided by the SPN channel for service data transmission belong to the large-granularity customers carried by the SPN channel. For example, in actual applications, the large-granularity customers may be campus or group customers, and the small-granularity customers included in the large-granularity customers may be individual users included in the campus or group.

[0098] As another implementation method, SPN small-granularity technology can directly divide the bandwidth of Ethernet PHY into multiple sub-slots for time division multiplexing to transmit the service data of small-granularity customers. For example, 10GE PHY can be divided into 960 sub-slots with a granularity of 10Mbps.

[0099] For example, Figure 6 This is another schematic diagram of using SPN small particle technology to divide sub-slots. Figure 6 As shown, the bandwidth of 10GE PHY in the physical channel is directly divided into 960 sub-slots, for example Figure 6 Sub-slot 0 to sub-slot 959 in the 4GPP 4000. Small-granularity clients can occupy one or more of the sub-slots to transmit service data. For example, fg-Client C can occupy 6 of the sub-slots, and fg-Client D can occupy 10 of the sub-slots. "*" indicates that the corresponding sub-slot is not occupied.

[0100] It should be noted that the current SPN small particle technology defines the bandwidth corresponding to the sub-slot as 10Mbps, but with the development of technology, the sub-slot may also have other values, and this application does not limit this. The following embodiments of this application are explained by taking the bandwidth corresponding to the sub-slot as 10Mbps as an example.

[0101] It should be understood that for the scenario where the bandwidth of Ethernet PHY is directly divided into multiple sub-slots for time division multiplexing, it can be considered that small-granularity customers use dedicated lines for data transmission.

[0102] In the scenario of using SPN small particle technology for data transmission, the sub-slots occupied by small particle clients are pre-configured. In the subsequent transmission process, SPN small particle technology supports online adjustment of the bandwidth of small particle clients (that is, the number of sub-slots occupied by small particle clients). For example, the sending device and the receiving device can use the handshake negotiation mechanism to adjust the number of sub-slots occupied by small particle clients to achieve bandwidth adjustment.

[0103] The bandwidth reduction adjustment process for small-granular clients can be as follows: Figure 7 As shown, from the source PE node ( Figure 7 PE1 in the first P node ( Figure 7 The bandwidth of each link is reduced and adjusted one by one until the last P node ( Figure 7 Pn in the destination PE node ( Figure 7 The bandwidth reduction adjustment is completed for the link between PE1 and PE2 in the example, thereby realizing the end-to-end bandwidth reduction adjustment between PE1 and PE2. The bandwidth reduction adjustment process may include the following steps:

[0104] a. Control and send time slot adjustment information to each network element involved in the adjustment (including Figure 7 The time slot adjustment information includes the identity (ID) of the fg-Client corresponding to the service whose bandwidth is to be reduced and the ID of the sub-slot to be released.

[0105] b. PE1 sends a timeslot adjustment request to P1 ( Figure 7 The timeslot adjustment request is used to indicate bandwidth reduction adjustment. The timeslot adjustment request carries the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service whose bandwidth is to be reduced and the ID of the sub-slot to be released.

[0106] c. After receiving the time slot adjustment request from PE1, P1 replies to PE1 with a time slot adjustment response ( Figure 7 The time slot adjustment response indicates that the bandwidth reduction adjustment is determined according to the time slot adjustment request, and the time slot adjustment response also carries the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service whose bandwidth is to be reduced and the ID of the sub-slot to be released.

[0107] d. After receiving the time slot adjustment response from P1, PE1 sends a time slot validity indication to P1 ( Figure 7The time slot effective indication is used to indicate that the bandwidth reduction adjustment is effective. The time slot effective indication also carries the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service whose bandwidth is to be reduced and the ID of the sub-slot to be released.

[0108] e. After receiving the time slot effective indication from PE1, the P1 node will send a time slot adjustment request to P2, and P1 and P2 will repeat the above steps b, c, and d. By analogy, the subsequent hop-by-hop nodes heading to PE2 will perform the above interactions in sequence. Until PE2 and Pn complete the above interaction process and determine that the time slot reduction adjustment is effective, the end-to-end bandwidth reduction adjustment between PE1 and PE2 is completed.

[0109] The process of increasing bandwidth of small-granular clients can be as follows: Figure 8 As shown, from the destination PE node ( Figure 8 PE2 in the Figure 8 The bandwidth of the last link between the Pn in the figure is adjusted to increase link by link until the first P node ( Figure 8 P1 in the source PE node ( Figure 8 The bandwidth increase adjustment is completed for the link between PE1 and PE2, thereby realizing the end-to-end bandwidth increase adjustment between PE1 and PE2. The bandwidth increase adjustment process may include the following steps:

[0110] a. Control and send time slot adjustment information to each network element involved in the adjustment (including Figure 8 The time slot adjustment information includes the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service for which the bandwidth is to be increased and the ID of the sub-slot to be increased.

[0111] b. PE2 sends a timeslot increase adjustment notification to Pn ( Figure 8 The time slot increase adjustment notification is used to indicate the start of the time slot adjustment process.

[0112] c. After receiving the time slot increase adjustment notification from PE2, Pn sends a time slot adjustment request to PE2 ( Figure 8 The timeslot adjustment request is used to instruct bandwidth increase adjustment. The timeslot adjustment request carries the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service for which bandwidth is to be increased and the ID of the sub-slot to be increased.

[0113] d. After receiving the time slot adjustment request from Pn, PE2 replies with a time slot adjustment response to Pn ( Figure 8The time slot adjustment response indicates that the bandwidth increase adjustment is determined according to the time slot adjustment request. The time slot adjustment response also carries the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service for which the bandwidth is to be increased and the ID of the sub-slot to be occupied.

[0114] e. After receiving the time slot adjustment response from PE2, Pn sends a time slot validity indication to PE2 ( Figure 8 The time slot effective indication is used to indicate that the bandwidth increase adjustment is effective, and the time slot effective indication also carries the ID of the fg-Client corresponding to the service for which the bandwidth is to be increased and the ID of the sub-slot to be increased.

[0115] f. After receiving the time slot adjustment response from PE2, Pn will also send a time slot increase adjustment notification to Pn-1, and repeat the above steps b, c, d, and e. By analogy, the above interactions will be performed between subsequent hop-by-hop nodes in turn. Until PE1 and P1 complete the above interaction process and determine that the increase time slot adjustment takes effect, the end-to-end bandwidth reduction adjustment between PE1 and PE2 is completed.

[0116] Above Figure 7 and Figure 8 The messages exchanged in the negotiation process shown, such as the time slot increase adjustment notification S, the time slot adjustment request CR, the time slot adjustment response CA and the time slot validity indication C, can all be implemented through an FGU frame overhead. Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the format of an FGU frame overhead for implementing small-granularity client bandwidth adjustment provided in the present application, wherein the FGU frame overhead includes 56 bits, wherein:

[0117] The first and second bits are a reserved field (RES).

[0118] Bits 3 to 8 are the multiframe indication (MFI) field.

[0119] The 9th bit to the 10th bit is a flag field. In the FGU frame used to implement small-granular client bandwidth adjustment, flag = 00. Optionally, the flag value in other types of FUG frames can also take other values, but it is not related to this application and will not be described here.

[0120] The 11th and 12th bits are reserved fields.

[0121] The 13th bit is the S indicator bit, which is the time slot increase adjustment notification indicator bit, and is used for the downstream to notify the upstream to trigger time slot negotiation when the time slot needs to be increased.

[0122] The 14th bit is the C indicator bit, which is used to indicate that the timeslot configuration is effective.

[0123] The 15th bit is the CR indicator bit, which is used to indicate a timeslot adjustment request.

[0124] The 16th bit is a CA indication bit, which is used to indicate a time slot adjustment response. After receiving the time slot adjustment request, the receiving end sends a time slot adjustment response to the sending end.

[0125] The 17th bit to the 28th bit is the Client ID field, and the Client ID field carries the ID of the fg-Client to be adjusted.

[0126] Bits 29 to 40 are the Sub-Slot ID field, which carries the ID of the sub-slot to be adjusted.

[0127] Bits 41 to 49 are reserved fields.

[0128] The 50th bit to the 56th bit is a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field.

[0129] Optionally, Fig. 9 The 13th to 16th bits of the FGU frame overhead shown can be called the operation code field, and there are 16 possible values. According to the description of the above S indicator bit, C indicator bit, CR indicator bit and CA indicator bit, 4 values ​​of the operation code field have been used, as follows:

[0130] 1000: indicates a timeslot increase adjustment notification, which is used by the downstream to notify the upstream to trigger timeslot negotiation when the timeslot needs to be increased.

[0131] 0100: indicates that the timeslot configuration takes effect.

[0132] 0010: Indicates a time slot adjustment request.

[0133] 0001: indicates a time slot adjustment response.

[0134] Currently, in addition to the above four values, the values ​​0000, 1111, and 1010 have also been used, and the other 9 values ​​have not yet been used.

[0135] It should be understood that Figure 7 and Figure 8 In the time slot adjustment interaction process shown, the messages exchanged between nodes can be used Fig. 9The FGU frame overhead shown is implemented. For example, the operation code field of the FGU frame overhead can take any value of 1000, 0100, 0010 or 0001 as the corresponding indication information.

[0136] However, the FGU frame overhead in the existing standard can only indicate the adjustment of one sub-slot occupied by a fg-Client at a time. However, the number of sub-slots is huge. When a large number of sub-slots need to be adjusted between sites, many handshake negotiations are required, and the bandwidth adjustment delay will be very long. For example, Figure 7 As shown in the figure, the CR, CA, and C messages are exchanged once between the hop-by-hop nodes between PE1 and PE2, and only one sub-slot can be adjusted. If there are many sub-slots to be adjusted, multiple interactions need to be performed between the hop-by-hop nodes between PE1 and PE2. Moreover, there are many nodes between PE1 and PE2. Therefore, the number of interactions required is huge overall, and the delay of bandwidth adjustment will be very long.

[0137] Based on the previous description, it can be known that, whether it is the adjustment process of the large-particle bearer channel or the adjustment process of the small-particle bearer channel, an overhead frame can only indicate the occupancy of a large-particle bearer channel or a small-particle bearer channel. When there are many large-particle bearer channels or small-particle bearer channels that need to be indicated, the number of overhead frames that need to be sent is very large. This will not only occupy a large amount of communication resources, but also increase the delay of the time slot adjustment process, resulting in a poor customer experience.

[0138] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a time slot adjustment method, which can adjust multiple time slots through a time slot adjustment request indication, thereby reducing the number of overhead frames sent and reducing the delay of the time slot adjustment process.

[0139] The technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiment of the present application. Among them, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a kind of association relationship describing the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. And, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second" and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit them to be necessarily different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way for easy understanding. In addition, the network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It can be known to those of ordinary skill in the art that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0140] Before introducing the time slot adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the communication system / service scenario to which the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application is applied is first introduced.

[0141] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in the present application, which includes a first network device 1001 and a second network device 1002, and a communication link is established between the first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002.

[0142] In the embodiment of the present application, the service data of the customer between the first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 can be transmitted based on the slicing technology described above, for example, the slot divided by the FlexE technology can be occupied for data transmission, or the sub-slot divided by the SPN small particle technology can be occupied for data transmission. The first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 can use the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application to adjust the slot or sub-slot occupied by the service, see the method embodiment below for details, which will not be described in detail here.

[0143] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a metropolitan area network provided in the present application, the metropolitan area network may include provider edge (PE) devices: PE1 and PE2, users access the metropolitan area network through PE devices, so that users connected to PE1 and users connected to PE2 can communicate end-to-end. Optionally, at least one provider (P) device may be included between PE1 and PE2, such as Fig.11 P1 to Pn in.

[0144] Optionally, Fig.10 The communication system shown may belong to Fig.11 The metropolitan area network shown, Fig.10 The first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 in the embodiment may be Fig.11 Any two adjacent network devices in the metropolitan area network shown. Thus, Fig.11 Any two adjacent network devices in the metropolitan area network shown can execute the time slot adjustment method provided in this application.

[0145] For example, when PE1 and PE2 are directly connected, the first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 may be one of PE1 and PE2, respectively. When PE1 and PE2 are connected through a P device, the first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 may be one of PE1 and the P device connected to PE1, respectively, or the first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 may be one of PE2 and the P device connected to PE2, respectively, or the first network device 1001 and the second network device 1002 may be one of two connected P devices, respectively.

[0146] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0147] The following will be combined Fig.10 and Fig.11 The communication system and network shown describe the time slot adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The actions, terms, etc. involved in the various embodiments of the present application can refer to each other without limitation. The message name or parameter name in the message in the embodiment of the present application is only an example, and other names can also be used in the specific implementation without limitation.

[0148] Fig.12 A flowchart of a time slot adjustment method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Fig.12 As shown, the method may include the following steps:

[0149] Step 1201: The first network device generates an adjustment request frame, the adjustment request frame includes time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information is associated with multiple time slots, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot among the multiple time slots associated with the time slot adjustment information.

[0150] Optionally, the time slot for requesting adjustment of the adjustment request frame provided in the present application may be a slot divided by the FlexE technology, for example Figure 2 Alternatively, the adjustment request frame provided in the present application may request adjustment of the time slot which is a sub-slot divided by the SPN small particle technology, for example Figure 5 or Figure 6 This is related to the scenario in which the time slot adjustment method is applied.

[0151] Optionally, the multiple time slots associated with the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame belong to the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment. Accordingly, the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame includes the identifier of the customer performing the time slot adjustment.

[0152] As an implementation method, the time slot adjustment method is applied to a scenario in which a customer occupies a slot allocated by the FlexE technology to transmit service data, and multiple time slots associated with the time slot adjustment information belong to the slots allocated by the FlexE Group corresponding to the customer performing the time slot adjustment.

[0153] For example, Figure 2Taking the scenario shown as an example, assuming that the client performing time slot adjustment is FlexE Client-A or FlexE Client-B, the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame may include the identifier of FlexE Client-A or FlexE Client-B. In this scenario, the time slot range that FlexE Client-A or FlexE Client-B can adjust is the 40 slots divided by FlexEGroup-1, so that the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame can be associated with multiple slots of the 40 slots, and then request to adjust at least one slot of the multiple slots.

[0154] As an implementation method, if the time slot adjustment method is applied in a scenario where a customer occupies a sub-slot divided by SPN small-granularity technology to transmit business data, and the sub-slot is obtained by dividing the SPN channel, then the multiple time slots associated with the time slot adjustment information belong to the sub-slot divided by the SPN channel corresponding to the customer performing the time slot adjustment.

[0155] For example, Figure 5 Taking the scenario shown as an example, assuming that the client performing the time slot adjustment is fg-Client-A or fg-Client-B, the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame may include the identifier of fg-Client-A or fg-Client-B. In this scenario, the time slot range that can be adjusted by fg-Client-A or fg-Client-B is 480 sub-slots divided by the bandwidth of SPN channel-1 (i.e., the bandwidth corresponding to slot-1), and the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame can be associated with multiple sub-slots in the 480 sub-slots, thereby requesting the adjustment of at least one sub-slot in the multiple sub-slots.

[0156] As an implementation method, if the time slot adjustment method is applied in a scenario where a customer occupies a sub-slot divided by SPN small particle technology to transmit business data, and the sub-slot is divided by Ethernet PHY, then the multiple time slots associated with the time slot adjustment information belong to the sub-slot divided by Ethernet PHY corresponding to the customer performing the time slot adjustment.

[0157] by Figure 6Taking the scenario shown as an example, assuming that the client performing time slot adjustment is fg-Client-C or fg-Client-D, the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame may include the identifier of fg-Client-C or fg-Client-D. In this scenario, the time slot range that can be adjusted by fg-Client-C or fg-Client-D is 960 sub-slots divided by 10GE PHY, and the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame can be associated with multiple sub-slots in the 960 sub-slots, thereby requesting adjustment of at least one sub-slot in the multiple sub-slots.

[0158] Step 1202: The first network device sends an adjustment request frame to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the adjustment request frame from the first network device.

[0159] Step 1203: The second network device adjusts at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame.

[0160] Optionally, for a scenario in which a customer uses time division multiplexing to transmit data in slots divided by FlexE technology, the customer can use the time slot adjustment method provided in this application to adjust the customer's bandwidth. Figure 3 Taking the process of adjusting the time slot occupancy of the transmitting end device and the receiving end device as an example, the first network device can Figure 3 The sending end device in the second network device can be Figure 3 For the receiving device in the adjustment process, step 302 in the adjustment process can send the time slot adjustment request frame provided by the present application. Figure 3 Step 302 in corresponds to step 1202 of the present application, Figure 3 Step 307 in corresponds to step 1203 of the present application.

[0161] Optionally, for a scenario where a customer uses time division multiplexing to transmit data using the sub-slots divided by the SPN small granularity technology, the customer can use the time slot adjustment method provided in this application to adjust the customer's bandwidth. Figure 7 or Figure 8 As an example of the small-granular client bandwidth adjustment process shown in FIG. Figure 7 or Figure 8 The second network device can be PE1 in Figure 7 or Figure 8 P1 in Figure 7 or Figure 8 The CR message sent by PE1 to P1 may be the timeslot adjustment request frame provided in the present application.

[0162] Based on the time slot adjustment method provided by the present application, the first network device can request to adjust one or more time slots through an adjustment request frame. For the same number of time slots to be adjusted, compared with the current scheme of indicating adjustment of each time slot frame by frame, the scheme of the present application can reduce the number of adjustment request frames that need to be sent, thereby saving communication resources and reducing the delay of time slot adjustment.

[0163] Alternatively, if Fig.12 As shown, after step 1202 and before step 1203, the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application may further include the following steps 1204 to 1206.

[0164] Step 1204: The second network device sends a time slot adjustment response frame to the first network device, and accordingly, the first network device receives the adjustment response frame from the second network device, wherein the adjustment response frame is used to indicate that adjustment is allowed for at least one time slot requested by the adjustment request frame.

[0165] After receiving the adjustment request frame from the first network device, the second network device may first determine whether to adjust the at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame according to its own capability.

[0166] Optionally, the second network device sends a time slot adjustment response frame to the first network device, which may specifically include: when the second network device supports adjusting at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame, the second network device sends a time slot adjustment response frame to the first network device.

[0167] Optionally, in step 1201 and step 1202, the first network device may generate and send an adjustment request frame, and in step 1204, the second network device may send an adjustment response frame, which is a response to an adjustment request frame in step 1201 and step 1202. The adjustment response frame in step 1204 is used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot requested by an adjustment request frame in step 1201 and step 1202 is allowed.

[0168] Optionally, in step 1201 and step 1202, the first network device may generate and send multiple adjustment request frames, and in step 1204, the second network device may send an adjustment response frame, which is a response to the multiple adjustment request frames in step 1201 and step 1202. The adjustment response frame in step 1204 is used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot requested by the multiple adjustment request frames in step 1201 and step 1202 is allowed.

[0169] Optionally, if before step 1204, the first network device continuously sends multiple adjustment request frames to the second network device, then the multiple adjustment request frames may include an end indication, and the end indication is used to indicate whether the current adjustment request frame is the last adjustment request frame among the multiple adjustment request frames sent continuously. Thus, the end indication of the last adjustment request frame will indicate that the current adjustment request frame is the last adjustment request frame among the multiple adjustment request frames sent continuously. As an implementation method, the end indication takes a first value to indicate that the current adjustment request frame is not the last adjustment request frame among the multiple adjustment request frames sent continuously, and the end indication takes a second value to indicate that the current adjustment request frame is the last adjustment request frame among the multiple adjustment request frames sent continuously.

[0170] Step 1205: The first network device adjusts at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame.

[0171] Optionally, if the first network device generates and sends an adjustment request frame in step 1201 and step 1202, then in step 1205 the first network device adjusts at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame.

[0172] Optionally, if the first network device generates and sends multiple adjustment request frames in step 1201 and step 1202, then in step 1205, the first network device adjusts at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the multiple adjustment request frames.

[0173] Step 1206: The first network device sends a time slot validity indication frame to the second network device, where the time slot validity indication frame is used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot requested to be adjusted in the adjustment request frame is effective.

[0174] Optionally, if the first network device generates and sends an adjustment request frame in step 1201 and step 1202, the time slot validity indication frame in step 1205 is used to indicate that the adjustment of at least one time slot requested by the adjustment request frame is effective.

[0175] Optionally, if the first network device generates and sends multiple adjustment request frames in step 1201 and step 1202, the time slot validity indication frame in step 1205 is used to indicate that the adjustment of at least one time slot requested by the multiple adjustment request frames is effective.

[0176] Optionally, the second network device executes the above step 1203 only after receiving the time slot validity indication frame.

[0177] For example, the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application can be applied to Figure 3In the process of adjusting the time slot occupancy of the transmitting end device and the receiving end device shown in FIG. Figure 3 The sending end device in the second network device can be Figure 3 The receiving device in Figure 3 Step 304 in corresponds to step 1204 of the present application, Figure 3 Step 305 in corresponds to step 1205 of the present application, Figure 3 Step 306 in corresponds to step 1206 of the present application.

[0178] For example, the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application can be applied to Figure 7 or Figure 8 In the small-granular client bandwidth adjustment process shown in FIG. Figure 7 or Figure 8 The second network device can be PE1 in Figure 7 or Figure 8 P1 in Figure 7 or Figure 8 The CA message sent by P1 to PE1 may be a time slot adjustment response frame provided in the present application. Figure 7 or Figure 8 The C message sent by PE1 to P1 may be the timeslot validity indication frame provided in the present application.

[0179] Optionally, when the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application is used to perform time slot increase adjustment, before step 1201, the time slot adjustment method may further include step 1207.

[0180] Step 1207: The second network device sends a time slot increase adjustment notification frame to the first network device, and accordingly, the first network device receives the time slot increase adjustment notification frame from the second network device, wherein the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the client.

[0181] It should be understood that the second network device is a downstream device of the first network device. When increasing and adjusting the time slot occupied by the customer, the downstream network device needs to support the time slot increase adjustment to ensure that the subsequent time slot increase adjustment process can be carried out correctly.

[0182] For example, the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application can be applied to Figure 8 In the small-granular client bandwidth adjustment process shown in FIG. Figure 8 The second network device can be PE1 in Figure 8 P1 in Figure 8 The S message sent by P1 to PE1 may be the time slot increase adjustment notification frame provided in the present application.

[0183] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame can be implemented in a variety of ways, which will be described in detail below.

[0184] The first implementation method of the time slot adjustment information: the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame may include the identifier of the customer who performs the time slot adjustment and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers. Among them, the relevant content of the identifier of the customer who performs the time slot adjustment is described in the previous step 1201 and will not be repeated here. The multiple time slot occupancy identifiers correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots associated with the above-mentioned time slot adjustment information, and each time slot occupancy identifier is used to indicate the target occupancy status of a time slot, and the target occupancy status of the time slot refers to whether the time slot needs to be occupied by the customer who performs the time slot adjustment. In the embodiment of the present application, the target occupancy status of at least one time slot among the multiple time slots associated with the time slot adjustment information is different from the current occupancy status, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot whose target occupancy status is different from the current occupancy status.

[0185] by Figure 2 Taking the scenario shown as an example, FlexE Client-A currently occupies slot 2 and slot 9 in Sub-Calendar 1, and it is assumed that FlexE Client-A wants to newly occupy slot 6 in Sub-Calendar 2. For example, multiple slot occupancy identifiers can indicate the target occupancy of 20 slots in Sub-Calendar 2, wherein the target occupancy of slot 6 in Sub-Calendar 2 is different from the current occupancy, and the adjustment request frame can be used to request adjustment of slot 6 in Sub-Calendar 2.

[0186] by Figure 5 Taking the scenario shown as an example, fg-Client-A currently occupies sub-slot0, sub-slot1, sub-slot3 and sub-slot25 of the 480 sub-slots divided by the bandwidth of SPN channel-1 (i.e., the bandwidth corresponding to slot-1), and it is assumed that fg-Client-A wants to newly occupy sub-slot22. For example, multiple time slot occupancy identifiers can indicate the target occupancy of sub-slot0 to sub-slot23, wherein the target occupancy of sub-slot22 is different from the current occupancy, and the adjustment request frame can be used to request adjustment of sub-slot22.

[0187] Optionally, the target occupancy status of the time slot may include two situations: not occupied by a customer and occupied by a customer who is adjusting the time slot. The time slot occupancy flag may indicate different target occupancy status of the time slot through different values. For example, the time slot occupancy flag having a first value may indicate that the corresponding time slot is occupied by a customer who is adjusting the time slot, and the time slot occupancy flag having a second value may indicate that the corresponding time slot is not occupied by a customer.

[0188] Optionally, each time slot occupancy flag may be carried by a bit in the adjustment request frame. The bit being 0 indicates that the time slot occupancy flag is a first value, and the bit being 1 indicates that the time slot occupancy flag is a second value. Alternatively, the bit being 1 indicates that the time slot occupancy flag is a first value, and the bit being 0 indicates that the time slot occupancy flag is a second value. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0189] Optionally, at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame may include a first-class time slot, the current occupancy status of the first-class time slot is not occupied by a client, and the target occupancy status of the first-class time slot is occupied by a client who needs to adjust the time slot. Thus, the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, which may include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the first-class time slot to be occupied by the client who is performing the time slot adjustment. Accordingly, the second network device adjusts the at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame, including: the second network device adjusts the first-class time slot to be occupied by the client who is performing the time slot adjustment.

[0190] Optionally, at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame may include a second-class time slot, the current occupancy status of the second-class time slot is occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment, and the target occupancy status of the second-class time slot is that it does not need to be occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment. Thus, the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, and may include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the second-class time slot to no longer be occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment. Accordingly, the second network device adjusts at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame, including: the second network device adjusts the second-class time slot to no longer be occupied by a client who is performing a time slot adjustment.

[0191] Optionally, at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame is a first type time slot, or at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame is a second type time slot, or at least one time slot requested to be adjusted by the adjustment request frame may include a first type time slot and a second type time slot.

[0192] Optionally, the multiple time slots corresponding to the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information are all time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment. As an implementation method, the time slot adjustment information includes m time slot occupancy identifiers, the number of time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment is also m, and the m time slot occupancy identifiers correspond one-to-one to the m time slots.

[0193] by Figure 2 Take the scenario shown in the figure as an example. Assume that FlexE Client-A adjusts the time slot. The time slots that FlexE Client-A can adjust are Figure 2 The 40 slots shown in the adjustment request frame may include 40 time slot occupancy identifiers, and the 40 time slot occupancy identifiers may correspond one-to-one to the 40 slots in the time slot range that can be adjusted by FlexE Client-A.

[0194] However, usually, the number of time slots that can be adjusted by the customer who makes time slot adjustment is relatively large. Limited by the length of the adjustment request frame, one adjustment request frame is difficult to indicate the target occupancy of all time slots in the adjustable time slot range by the customer who makes time slot adjustment. Figure 5 Taking the scenario shown as an example, assuming that fg-Client-A is the client that performs time slot adjustment, the adjustable time slot range of fg-Client-A includes 480 sub-slots divided from the bandwidth of SPN channel-1 (i.e., the bandwidth corresponding to slot-1). To indicate the target occupancy of these 480 sub-slots, 480 time slot occupancy identifiers are required, but it is difficult for a time slot adjustment request frame to carry 480 time slot occupancy identifiers.

[0195] Optionally, the time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be divided into multiple groups, and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information correspond to any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots. As an implementation method, the time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be divided into n groups, and the number of time slots in each group is m. The time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame can include m time slot occupancy identifiers, and the m time slot occupancy identifiers can correspond to a group of time slots (the number is m) in the n groups of time slots.

[0196] by Figure 2 Taking the scenario shown in the figure as an example, assuming that FlexE Client-A is the client that performs time slot adjustment, the time slots within the time slot range that FlexE Client-A can adjust are Figure 2The 40 slots shown in . These 40 slots can be divided into 2 groups of slots, the first group of slots includes 20 slots in Sub-Calendar1, and the second group of slots includes 20 slots in Sub-Calendar2. An adjustment request frame can include 20 slot occupancy flags, and these 20 slot occupancy flags correspond to any group of slots in the 2 groups of slots.

[0197] by Figure 5 Taking the scenario shown in the figure as an example, assuming that fg-Client-A is the customer who adjusts the time slot, the adjustable time slot range of fg-Client-A includes the bandwidth of SPN channel-1 (that is, the bandwidth corresponding to slot-1) divided into 480 sub-slots (that is, Figure 5 The 480 sub-slots may be divided into 20 groups of sub-slots, each group including 24 sub-slots. An adjustment request frame may include 24 time slot occupancy identifiers, and the 24 time slot occupancy identifiers may correspond to any group of sub-slots in the 20 groups of sub-slots.

[0198] Optionally, the grouping of time slots within the time slot range adjustable by the customer performing time slot adjustment can be negotiated by the first network device and the second network device, and the values ​​of m and n can be known in advance by both parties. The values ​​of m and n can be flexibly set according to actual conditions, and this application does not impose any restrictions.

[0199] Optionally, when the time slots within the adjustable time slot range of the customer performing time slot adjustment are divided into multiple groups, the time slot adjustment information may further include a grouping identifier, which is used to indicate the grouping of multiple time slots corresponding to multiple time slot occupancy identifiers in the divided multiple groups of time slots.

[0200] For example, taking the above Figure 2 Taking the example of dividing 40 slots in the adjustment request frame into 2 groups of slots, the grouping identifier in the adjustment request frame can be used to indicate one group of slots in the 2 groups of slots, and the 20 time slot occupancy identifiers in the adjustment request frame correspond one-to-one to the 20 slots included in the group of slots indicated by the grouping identifier.

[0201] As another example, the above Figure 5 Taking the example of dividing 480 sub-slots in the adjustment request frame into 20 groups of sub-slots, the group identifier in the adjustment request frame can be used to indicate a group of sub-slots in the 20 groups of sub-slots, and the 24 time slot occupancy identifiers in the adjustment request frame correspond one-to-one to the 24 sub-slots included in the group of sub-slots indicated by the group identifier.

[0202] Optionally, the time slots within the adjustable time slot range of the customer performing time slot adjustment can be sorted, the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers in the time slot adjustment information can also be sorted, and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers in the time slot adjustment information and the corresponding multiple time slots can establish a mapping relationship based on the sorting.

[0203] As an implementation method, if the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information correspond to all time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment, all time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be uniformly sorted, and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information can be sorted based on the bit position, and then a mapping relationship is established based on the sorting.

[0204] For example, Figure 2 Taking the scenario shown in the figure as an example, assuming that FlexE Client-A is the client that performs time slot adjustment, the time slots within the time slot range that FlexE Client-A can adjust are Figure 2 The 40 slots shown in . The 40 slots can be sorted from left to right, with slot 0 in Sub-Calendar1 being the first slot and slot 19 in Sub-Calendar2 being the 40th slot. The 40 time slot occupancy identifiers in the adjustment request frame can correspond to the 40 slots in the order of the bit positions. For example, the time slot occupancy identifier with the earliest bit position in the adjustment request frame corresponds to the first slot, and the time slot occupancy identifier with the latest bit position corresponds to the 40th slot.

[0205] As another implementation, if the time slots within the time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be divided into multiple groups, the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information correspond to any one of the multiple groups of time slots. Each group of time slots divided within the time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be sorted separately, and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers in the time slot adjustment information can also be sorted, and then a mapping relationship is established based on the sorting.

[0206] As another example, continue with Figure 5 Taking the scenario shown in the figure as an example, assuming that fg-Client-A is the customer who adjusts the time slot, the adjustable time slot range of fg-Client-A includes the bandwidth of SPN channel-1 (that is, the bandwidth corresponding to slot-1) divided into 480 sub-slots (that is, Figure 5The 480 sub-slots can be divided into 20 groups of sub-slots, each group of sub-slots includes 24 sub-slots, and each group of sub-slots can be sorted from small to large according to the serial number. Assume that the first group of sub-slots includes sub-slot0 to sub-slot23, and the time slot adjustment information includes 24 time slot occupancy identifiers corresponding to the first group of sub-slots. Then, the first time slot occupancy identifier can correspond to sub-slot0, and the 24th time slot occupancy identifier can correspond to sub-slot23.

[0207] The second implementation method of the time slot adjustment information: the time slot adjustment information in the adjustment request frame may include an identifier of the customer who performs the time slot adjustment and multiple time slot adjustment identifiers. Among them, the relevant content of the identifier of the customer who performs the time slot adjustment is described in the previous step 1201 and will not be repeated here. The multiple time slot adjustment identifiers correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots associated with the above-mentioned time slot adjustment information, and each time slot adjustment identifier is used to indicate whether a time slot is adjusted. In the embodiment of the present application, at least one time slot among the multiple time slots is indicated to need to be adjusted, and the adjustment request frame can be used to request adjustment of the at least one time slot.

[0208] Optionally, the current occupancy of at least one time slot indicated to be required to be adjusted is not occupied by a client, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, which may include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot to be occupied by a client who is performing time slot adjustment. This solution can be used to implement bandwidth increase adjustment of a client who is performing time slot adjustment.

[0209] Optionally, the current occupancy of at least one time slot indicated to need adjustment is occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot, which may include: the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot to no longer be occupied by the client performing time slot adjustment. This solution can be used to implement bandwidth reduction adjustment of a client performing time slot adjustment.

[0210] Optionally, the multiple time slots corresponding to the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information are all time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment. Alternatively, the time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be divided into multiple groups, and the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers included in the time slot adjustment information correspond to any one of the multiple groups of time slots. It should be understood that the implementation method of the multiple time slots corresponding to the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers can refer to the implementation method of the multiple time slots corresponding to the above-mentioned multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, which will not be repeated here.

[0211] Optionally, when the time slots within the time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment are divided into multiple groups, the time slot adjustment information may further include a grouping identifier. The grouping identifier is used to indicate the grouping of the multiple time slots corresponding to the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers in the multiple groups of time slots divided in the time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment.

[0212] Optionally, the time slots within the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing the time slot adjustment can be sorted, and the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers in the time slot adjustment information can also be sorted, and the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers in the time slot adjustment information and the multiple time slots corresponding thereto can establish a mapping relationship based on the sorting. It should be understood that the mapping method between the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers and the multiple time slots corresponding thereto can refer to the mapping method between the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers and the multiple time slots corresponding thereto, and will not be repeated here.

[0213] Optionally, for the scenario where the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application is used to adjust the sub-slot divided by the SPN small particle technology, the frame format of the adjustment request frame can be modified according to the first FGU frame overhead. The first FGU frame overhead is the FGU frame overhead used to implement small particle customer bandwidth adjustment. The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1. For example, the format of the first FGU frame overhead can be as follows: Fig. 9 shown.

[0214] As an implementation method, the adjustment request frame includes an identifier of a client that performs time slot adjustment, a group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers. The Client ID field in the first FGU frame overhead can be used to carry the ID of the client that performs time slot adjustment, and the Sub-Slot ID field and the first part of the reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead can be used together to carry the group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers.

[0215] For example, the adjustment request frame obtained based on this implementation manner can be as follows: Fig.13 As shown, the 17th to 28th bits can be used to carry the ID of the customer who performs time slot adjustment, the 29th to 34th bits can be used to carry the group identifier, and the 35th to 49th bits can be used to carry 15 time slot occupancy identifiers or 15 time slot adjustment identifiers. Fig.13 The other fields of the Adjustment Request frame shown are similar to Fig. 9 The first FGU frame shown is the same as the first FGU frame shown. Among them, the 17th bit to the 28th bit is the Client ID field in the first FGU frame overhead, the 29th bit to the 40th bit is the Sub-Slot ID field in the first FGU frame overhead, and the 41st bit to the 49th bit is the first part of the reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead.

[0216] Based on this implementation, one adjustment request frame can be associated with 15 sub-slots. If the number of sub-slots within the adjustable time slot range of the customer performing time slot adjustment is 480, then the sub-slots within the adjustable time slot range of the customer performing time slot adjustment can be divided into 32 groups of sub-slots, and the group identifier in the adjustment request frame indicates one group of sub-slots in the 32 groups. If the number of sub-slots within the adjustable time slot range of the customer performing time slot adjustment is 960, then the sub-slots within the adjustable time slot range of the customer performing time slot adjustment can be divided into 64 groups of sub-slots, and the group identifier in the adjustment request frame indicates one group of sub-slots in the 64 groups. In addition, the length of the field carrying the group identifier is 6 bits, and 6 bits can represent decimal numbers 0 to 63, so that the adjustment request frame can carry up to 64 group identifiers.

[0217] As another implementation method, in addition to the above-mentioned identification of the customer performing time slot adjustment, group identification, and multiple time slot occupancy identification or multiple time slot adjustment identification, the adjustment request frame may also include a special format identification, and the special format identification is used to indicate that the frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first FGU frame overhead. In this case, the method of carrying the identification of the customer performing time slot adjustment, group identification, and multiple time slot occupancy identification or multiple time slot adjustment identification can refer to the description of the previous implementation method, and will not be repeated here. The second part of the reserved field of the first FGU frame overhead can be used to carry the special format identification.

[0218] For example, the adjustment request frame obtained based on this implementation manner can be as follows: Fig.14 As shown. Among them, the first and second bits of the adjustment request frame are used to carry the special format identifier. Fig.14 The other bits in Fig.13 The adjustment request frame shown is the same and will not be described again. In this case, the second part of the reserved field of the first FGU frame refers to the reserved field of bits 1 to 2 in the FGU frame.

[0219] As another example, the adjustment request frame obtained based on this implementation manner can also be as follows: Fig.15 As shown. Among them, the 11th to 12th bits of the adjustment request frame are used to carry the special format identifier. Fig.15 The other bits in Fig.13 The adjustment request frame shown is the same and will not be described again. In this case, the second part of the reserved field of the first FGU frame refers to the reserved field of bits 11 to 12 in the FGU frame.

[0220] As another implementation, the adjustment request frame includes a special format identifier, an identifier of a client performing time slot adjustment, a group identifier, multiple time slot occupation identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers, and an end indication. The carrying method of the special format identifier, the identifier of a client performing time slot adjustment, the group identifier, and multiple time slot occupation identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers can refer to the description of the previous implementation, and will not be repeated here. The third part of the reserved field of the first FGU frame overhead can be used to carry the end indication.

[0221] For example, the adjustment request frame obtained based on this implementation manner can be as follows: Fig.16 As shown, the 1st and 2nd bits of the adjustment request frame are used to carry the special format identifier, and the 11th and 12th bits of the adjustment request frame are used to carry the end indication. Fig.16 The other bits in Fig.13 The adjustment request frame shown is the same and will not be described again here. In this case, the second part of the reserved field of the first FGU frame refers to the reserved field of bits 1 to 2 in the FGU frame, and the third part of the reserved field of the first FGU frame refers to the reserved field of bits 11 to 12 in the FGU frame.

[0222] It should be understood that Figures 13 to 16 The examples given are only some possible implementations and do not constitute a limitation of the present application. Fig. 9 Taking the frame format shown as an example, the reserved field from bit 1 to bit 2, the reserved field from bit 11 to bit 12, the Sub-Slot ID field from bit 29 to bit 40, and the reserved field from bit 41 to bit 49 can all be reconfigured to carry the above-mentioned special format identifier, group identifier, multiple time slot occupancy identifiers or multiple time slot adjustment identifiers, and end indication. There may be many situations for how these bits are specifically allocated to carry the above-mentioned fields, which is not limited in this application.

[0223] It should be understood that in order to adjust the request frame such as Figures 13 to 16 Taking the format shown as an example, an adjustment request frame may include 15 time slot occupancy identifiers or time slot adjustment identifiers, so that an adjustment request frame can be associated with 15 sub-slots. If the number of sub-slots in the time slot range that can be adjusted by the customer performing time slot adjustment is 480, it can be divided into 32 groups of sub-slots. Assuming that all 480 sub-slots need to be adjusted, only 32 adjustment request frames are needed to indicate the adjustment. If the traditional frame-by-frame indication method is adopted, 480 FGU frames are required. In contrast, the solution of the present application can greatly reduce the number of frames that need to be transmitted, thereby greatly reducing the adjustment delay.

[0224] Optionally, for a scenario in which the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application is used to adjust a slot divided by the FlexE technology, the frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the FlexE overhead frame, for example Figure 4 Figure 1 shows the FlexE overhead frame.

[0225] As an implementation method, the adjustment request frame may include an identifier of a client performing time slot adjustment and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers. Figure 4 The Client Calender A field, the Client Calender B field, and the reserved field in the FlexE overhead frame shown can be re-planned to carry the identifier of the customer performing time slot adjustment and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers.

[0226] As an implementation method, the adjustment request frame may include an identifier of a client performing time slot adjustment, a group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers. Figure 4 The Client Calender A field, the Client Calender B field, and the reserved field in the FlexE overhead frame shown can be re-planned to carry the identifier of the customer performing time slot adjustment and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers.

[0227] As another implementation, in addition to the above-mentioned customer identifier, group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers for time slot adjustment, the adjustment request frame may also include a special format identifier, which is used to indicate that the frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the FlexE overhead frame. In this case, Figure 4 The Client Calender A field, the Client Calender B field, and the reserved field in the FlexE overhead frame shown can be re-planned to carry the identifier of the customer performing time slot adjustment, the group identifier, and multiple time slot occupancy identifiers.

[0228] As an implementation method, the adjustment request frame may include a special format identifier, an identifier of a client performing time slot adjustment, a group identifier, multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, and an end indication. Figure 4 The ClientCalender A field, the ClientCalender B field, and the reserved field in the FlexE overhead frame shown can be re-planned to carry the identifier of the customer performing time slot adjustment, the group identifier, multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, and the end indication.

[0229] For example, the frame format of an adjustment request frame obtained by modifying a FlexE overhead frame provided in the present application can be as follows: Fig.17Among them, the 82nd bit can be used to carry a special format identifier, the 83rd to 98th bits can be used to carry the ID of the customer who adjusts the time slot, the 99th to 102nd bits can be used to carry a group identifier, the 103rd to 122nd bits can be used to carry 20 time slot occupancy identifiers, the 123rd bit can be used to carry an end indication, the 124th to 128th bits are reserved fields, the 130th to 161st bits are reserved fields, and the other bits are the same as Figure 4 The FlexE overhead frames shown are the same.

[0230] For example, Fig.17 The adjustment request frame shown can be used in Figure 3 In step 302, the time slot range that can be adjusted by the client performing time slot adjustment is all the slots in the standby time slot allocation table, and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers carried by the adjustment request frame indicate the target occupancy of the multiple slots in the standby time slot allocation identifier.

[0231] Optionally, for the scenario in which the time slot adjustment method provided in the present application is used to adjust the slots divided by the FlexE technology, the adjustment request frame may include multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers and multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers, and the multiple time slots associated with the multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers and the multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers are the same. Among them, the multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers are used to indicate the current occupancy status of multiple time slots, and the multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers are used to indicate the target occupancy status of multiple time slots. The explanation of the target occupancy status and the current occupancy status can refer to the above description. Multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers correspond to the main time slot allocation table, and multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers correspond to the standby time slot allocation table.

[0232] In this case, as a possible implementation, the adjustment request frame may include a special format identifier, a first customer ID, a first group identifier, multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers, a second customer ID, a second group identifier, multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers, and an end indication. Among them, the first customer ID, the first group identifier, multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers, and the second customer ID correspond to the main time slot allocation table, and the multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers indicate the occupancy of multiple time slots in the main time slot allocation table. The second customer ID, the second group identifier, multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers, and the second customer ID correspond to the standby time slot allocation table, and the multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers indicate the occupancy of multiple time slots in the standby time slot allocation table. The first customer ID is the same as the second customer ID, the first group identifier is the same as the second group identifier, and the multiple time slots corresponding to the multiple first time slot occupancy identifiers and the multiple second time slot occupancy identifiers are the same. It should be understood that the occupancy of the multiple time slots in the main time slot allocation table is the current occupancy of the multiple time slots, and the occupancy of the multiple time slots in the standby time slot allocation table is the target occupancy of the multiple time slots.

[0233] For example, an adjustment request frame obtained based on this implementation manner may be as follows: Fig.18 As shown. Among them, the 82nd bit is used to carry the special format identifier, the 83rd to 98th bits are used to carry the first customer ID, the 99th to 100th bits are used to carry the first group identifier, the 101st to 120th bits are used to carry 20 first time slot occupancy identifiers, the 121st to 128th bits and the 130th to 137th bits are used to carry the second customer ID, the 138th to 139th bits are used to carry the second group identifier, the 140th to 159th bits are used to carry 20 second time slot occupancy identifiers, the 160th bit is used to carry the end indication, the 161st bit is used as a reserved bit (RES), and the other bits are the same as Figure 4 The FlexE overhead frames shown are the same.

[0234] It should be understood that the first time slot occupancy identifier carried in the adjustment request frame can be used to verify the correctness of the main time slot allocation table of the second network device.

[0235] Optionally, the above-mentioned time slot adjustment method in the embodiment of the present application can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be the first network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or a device including the above-mentioned first network device, or a component that can be used for the first network device. The communication device can also be the second network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or a device including the above-mentioned second network device, or a component that can be used for the second network device. In order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the communication device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. It should be easy for those skilled in the art to realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiment disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0236] Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device is shown, the communication device 190 comprises a processing module 1901 and a transceiver module 1902. The transceiver module 1902 may also be called a transceiver unit for implementing a transceiver function, for example, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0237] Wherein, the communication device 190 is taken as the first network device in the above method embodiment as an example:

[0238] The processing module 1901 can be used to generate an adjustment request frame, the adjustment request frame includes time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information is used to associate multiple time slots, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot in the multiple time slots. The transceiver module 1902 can be used to send the adjustment request frame to the second network device.

[0239] Optionally, the transceiver module 1902 may also be used to receive a time slot adjustment response frame from the second network device, the adjustment response frame being used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot is allowed. The processing module 1901 may also be used to adjust at least one time slot. The transceiver module 1902 may also be used to send a time slot validity indication frame to the second network device, the time slot validity indication frame being used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot is effective.

[0240] Optionally, the transceiver module 1902 may also be used to receive a time slot increase adjustment notification frame from the second network device, where the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the client.

[0241] Wherein, the communication device 190 is taken as the second network device in the above method embodiment as an example:

[0242] The transceiver module 1902 may be used to receive an adjustment request frame from the first network device, the adjustment request frame including time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information being associated with multiple time slots, and the adjustment request frame being used to request adjustment of at least one time slot among the multiple time slots. The processing module 1901 may be used to adjust at least one time slot.

[0243] Optionally, at least one time slot includes a first-category time slot, a current occupancy status of the first-category time slot is not occupied by a customer, and a target occupancy status of the first-category time slot is occupied by a customer who needs to adjust the time slot. The processing module 1901 is used to adjust at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the processing module 1901 is used to adjust the first-category time slot to be occupied by the customer who needs to adjust the time slot.

[0244] Optionally, at least one time slot includes a second type of time slot, a current occupancy status of the first type of time slot is occupied by a client who performs time slot adjustment, and a target occupancy status of the second type of time slot is occupied by a client who does not need to perform time slot adjustment. The processing module 1901 is configured to adjust at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the processing module 1901 is configured to adjust the second type of time slot to no longer be occupied by a client who performs time slot adjustment.

[0245] Optionally, the current occupancy status of at least one time slot is that it is not occupied by a client. The processing module 1901 is used to adjust at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the processing module 1901 is used to adjust at least one time slot to be occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment.

[0246] Optionally, the current occupancy of at least one time slot is occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment. The processing module 1901 is configured to adjust at least one time slot, which may specifically include: the processing module 1901 is configured to adjust at least one time slot to no longer be occupied by a client performing time slot adjustment.

[0247] Optionally, the transceiver module 1902 may also be used to send a time slot adjustment response frame to the first network device, the adjustment response frame being used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot is allowed. Also, the transceiver module 1902 may also be used to receive a time slot validity indication frame from the first network device, the time slot validity indication frame being used to indicate that adjustment of at least one time slot is effective.

[0248] The transceiver module 1902 may also be used to send a time slot increase adjustment notification frame to the first network device, where the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the client.

[0249] It should be noted that all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, which will not be repeated here. Since the communication device 100 provided in this embodiment can execute the above time slot adjustment method, the technical effect that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0250] In this embodiment, the communication device 190 is presented in the form of dividing various functional modules in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to a specific ASIC, a circuit, a processor and a memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the communication device 190 can be used Fig. 20 The form of the communication device 200 is shown.

[0251] Fig. 20 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Fig. 20 As shown, the communication device 200 includes one or more processors 2001, a communication line 2002, and at least one communication interface ( Fig. 20 The example of the communication interface 2003 and a processor 2001 is merely exemplary. Optionally, a memory 2004 may also be included.

[0252] The processor 2001 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application.

[0253] Communication line 2002 may include a pathway for communication between different components.

[0254] The communication interface 2003 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface 2003 may also be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 2001, for realizing signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0255] The memory 2004 may be a device with a storage function. For example, it may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor via a communication line 2002. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0256] The memory 2004 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 2001. The processor 2001 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2004, thereby implementing the time slot adjustment method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0257] Alternatively, optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the processor 2001 may also perform processing-related functions in the time slot adjustment method provided in the following embodiment of the present application, and the communication interface 2003 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0258] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0259] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 2001 may include one or more CPUs, such as Fig. 20 CPU0 and CPU1 in.

[0260] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 200 may include multiple processors, such as Fig. 20 The processor 2001 and the processor 2007 in the embodiment of the present invention are shown in FIG. 1 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processors here may include but are not limited to at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., and each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing.

[0261] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 200 may further include an output device 2005 and an input device 2006. The output device 2005 communicates with the processor 2001 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 2005 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 2006 communicates with the processor 2001 and may receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 2006 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0262] The communication device 200 may also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general device or a dedicated device. For example, the communication device 200 may be a network device such as a router, a switch, a gateway, or a terminal device, or a controller in a network, or a device having Fig. 20 The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the communication device 200.

[0263] Fig. 20 The processor 2001 in the communication device 200 shown can call the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2004 to enable the communication device 200 to execute the time slot adjustment method in the above method embodiment.

[0264] Since the communication device 200 provided in this embodiment can execute the above-mentioned time slot adjustment method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0265] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0266] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0267] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0268] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0269] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0270] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0271] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or may contain one or more servers, data centers and other data storage devices that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0272] As used in this application, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, which can be hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in operation. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to: a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread in execution, a program, and / or a computer. As an example, an application running on a computing device and the computing device can both be components. One or more components can exist in a process and / or thread in execution, and a component can be located in a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media with various data structures thereon. These components can communicate in a local and / or remote process manner, such as according to a signal with one or more data packets (for example, data from a component that interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or interacts with other systems in a signal manner through a network such as the Internet).

[0273] The present application presents various aspects, embodiments, or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. In addition, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

[0274] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" is used to indicate an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way.

[0275] In the embodiments of the present application, information, signal, message, and channel can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent. "of", "corresponding, relevant" and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent. "System" and "network" can sometimes be used interchangeably. When the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent. For example, "communication network" also refers to "communication system".

[0276] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0277] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A time slot adjustment method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first network device generates an adjustment request frame, the adjustment request frame including time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information is associated with a plurality of time slots, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot among the plurality of time slots; The first network device sends the adjustment request frame to the second network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple time slots belong to a range of time slots that can be adjusted by a customer who is performing time slot adjustment, and the time slot adjustment information includes an identifier of the customer who is performing time slot adjustment.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The time slot adjustment information also includes multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, which correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots. One time slot occupancy identifier is used to indicate the target occupancy status of a corresponding time slot, and the target occupancy status of the time slot refers to whether the time slot needs to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment; wherein the target occupancy status of at least one time slot is different from the current occupancy status.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The at least one time slot includes a first type of time slot, the current occupancy status of the first type of time slot is not occupied by the customer, and the target occupancy status of the first type of time slot is to be occupied by the customer who needs to adjust the time slot; The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the at least one time slot, including: The adjustment request frame is used to request that the first type of time slots be adjusted to be occupied by the client performing time slot adjustment.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The at least one time slot includes a second type of time slot, the current occupancy status of the first type of time slot is that it is occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment, and the target occupancy status of the second type of time slot is that it does not need to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment; The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the at least one time slot, including: The adjustment request frame is used to request that the second-type time slots be adjusted to no longer be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The time slot adjustment information also includes multiple time slot adjustment identifiers, which correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots, and one time slot adjustment identifier is used to indicate whether a corresponding time slot needs to be adjusted; wherein, at least one time slot is indicated to need to be adjusted.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The current occupancy status of the at least one time slot is that it is not occupied by a client; The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the at least one time slot, including: The adjustment request frame is used to request that the at least one time slot be adjusted to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The current occupancy status of the at least one time slot is that it is occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment; The adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of the at least one time slot, including: The adjustment request frame is used to request that the at least one time slot be adjusted to no longer be occupied by the time slot being adjusted.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment includes multiple groups of time slots, and the multiple time slots are any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots; The time slot adjustment information further includes a grouping identifier, and the grouping identifier is used to indicate the grouping of the multiple time slots in the multiple groups of time slots.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first small granular unit FGU frame overhead; The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1; The client ID field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the ID of the customer performing time slot adjustment, and the sub-slot ID field and the first part reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead are used together to carry the group identifier and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers.

11. The method according to any one of claims 2 or 6-8, characterized in that: The time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment includes multiple groups of time slots, and the multiple time slots are any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots; The time slot adjustment information further includes a grouping identifier, where the grouping identifier indicates the grouping of the multiple time slots in the multiple groups of time slots.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first small granular unit FGU frame overhead; The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1; The client identifier Client ID field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the ID of the customer performing the time slot adjustment, and the sub-time slot identifier Sub-SlotID field and the first part reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead are used to carry the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers.

13. The method according to claim 10 or 12, characterized in that: The adjustment request frame also includes a special format identifier, and the frame format indicated by the special format identifier is modified according to the first FGU frame overhead; the second part of the reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the special format identifier.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first network device receives a time slot adjustment response frame from the second network device, where the adjustment response frame is used to indicate that adjustment of the at least one time slot is allowed; The first network device adjusts the at least one time slot; The first network device sends a time slot validity indication frame to the second network device, where the time slot validity indication frame is used to indicate that adjustment of the at least one time slot is effective.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device receives a time slot increase adjustment notification frame from the second network device, where the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the client.

16. A time slot adjustment method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second network device receives an adjustment request frame from the first network device, the adjustment request frame including time slot adjustment information, the time slot adjustment information is associated with a plurality of time slots, and the adjustment request frame is used to request adjustment of at least one time slot among the plurality of time slots; The second network device adjusts the at least one time slot.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The multiple time slots belong to a range of time slots that can be adjusted by a customer who is performing time slot adjustment, and the time slot adjustment information includes an identifier of the customer who is performing time slot adjustment.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The time slot adjustment information also includes multiple time slot occupancy identifiers, which correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots. One time slot occupancy identifier is used to indicate the target occupancy status of a corresponding time slot, and the target occupancy status of the time slot refers to whether the time slot needs to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment; wherein the target occupancy status of at least one time slot is different from the current occupancy status.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The at least one time slot includes a first type of time slot, the current occupancy status of the first type of time slot is not occupied by the customer, and the target occupancy status of the first type of time slot is to be occupied by the customer who needs to adjust the time slot; The second network device adjusting the at least one time slot includes: The second network device adjusts the first type of time slots to be occupied by the client performing time slot adjustment.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that The at least one time slot includes a second type of time slot, the current occupancy status of the first type of time slot is that it is occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment, and the target occupancy status of the second type of time slot is that it does not need to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment; The second network device adjusting the at least one time slot includes: The second network device adjusts the second type of time slots so that they are no longer occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment.

21. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The time slot adjustment information also includes multiple time slot adjustment identifiers, which correspond one-to-one to the multiple time slots, and one time slot adjustment identifier is used to indicate whether a corresponding time slot needs to be adjusted; wherein, at least one time slot is indicated to need to be adjusted.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The current occupancy status of the at least one time slot is that it is not occupied by a client; The second network device adjusting the at least one time slot includes: The second network device adjusts the at least one time slot to be occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The current occupancy status of the at least one time slot is that it is occupied by the client performing the time slot adjustment; The second network device adjusting the at least one time slot includes: The second network device adjusts the at least one time slot to be no longer occupied by the device performing the time slot adjustment.

24. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that: The time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment includes multiple groups of time slots, and the multiple time slots are any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots; The time slot adjustment information further includes a grouping identifier, and the grouping identifier is used to indicate the grouping of the multiple time slots in the multiple groups of time slots.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first small granular unit FGU frame overhead; The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1; The client identifier ClientID field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the ID of the customer performing time slot adjustment, and the sub-slot identifier Sub-Slot ID field and the first part reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead are used together to carry the group identifier and the multiple time slot occupancy identifiers.

26. The method according to any one of claims 17 or 21-23, characterized in that: The time slot range adjustable by the customer performing the time slot adjustment includes multiple groups of time slots, and the multiple time slots are any group of time slots in the multiple groups of time slots; The time slot adjustment information further includes a grouping identifier, where the grouping identifier indicates the grouping of the multiple time slots in the multiple groups of time slots.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The frame format of the adjustment request frame is modified according to the first small granular unit FGU frame overhead; The value of the flag field in the first FGU frame overhead is 00, and the value of the CR bit in the first FGU frame overhead is 1; The client identifier ClientID field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the ID of the customer performing the time slot adjustment, and the sub-slot identifier Sub-Slot ID field and the first part reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead are used to carry the multiple time slot adjustment identifiers.

28. The method according to claim 25 or 27, characterized in that The adjustment request frame also includes a special format identifier, and the frame format indicated by the special format identifier is modified according to the first FGU frame overhead; the second part of the reserved field in the first FGU frame overhead is used to carry the special format identifier.

29. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 28, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second network device sends a time slot adjustment response frame to the first network device, where the adjustment response frame is used to indicate that adjustment of the at least one time slot is allowed; The second network device receives a time slot validity indication frame from the first network device, where the time slot validity indication frame is used to indicate that adjustment of the at least one time slot is effective.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second network device sends a time slot increase adjustment notification frame to the first network device, where the time slot increase adjustment notification frame is used to indicate that the second network device supports adjusting and increasing the time slot occupied by the client.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: a processor and a memory; The memory is used to store program instructions. When the processor executes the program instructions, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-15 or 16-30.

32. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: Program instructions are stored thereon, and when the program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or 16 to 30.

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